Vanishing In The Haze
by It's Just a FAYZ
Summary: A serial killer is loose in the FAYZ. Sam and Astrid must work together to protect the others as danger looms over the horizon. As it all threatens to unravel, the dangers mounts. Who can escape alive? Will their love escape intact?
1. Discovery

**A/N: Don't own Gone, well. I do. Just my copy of it, but other than that, all props go to Mr. Grant. **

**Rated M for a reason, kiddies. Well, actually, it's just M because I'm not too sure and want to be careful. This won't be worse than a CSI episode... I hope. **

"Edilio–I don't think I need to say this... but this better be good," Sam muttered drowsily. He pulled Astrid a little closer to him as she shivered. He'd never admit that it wasn't just because she looked cold, it was also because he was really cold too.

Edilio's soldier that had escorted them froze in front on them, eyes ripe with terror. How old was this kid? Twelve? Sam took a few steps forward with Astrid, uncertain why he'd stopped a good ten feet away from where Edilio was.

"Are you OK?" Sam asked, looking back. The girl soldier shook her head rapidly. In the glow of his ball of light that floated beside him Sam could see the tears that glistened in her eyes. She stumbled backwards a step, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I-I found it–her. I don't want to see it–it's scary," she hiccuped loudly.

Sam was grateful when Astrid stepped in. He wasn't good at comforting people, wasn't articulate with his speech like Astrid was. She had always comforted Little Pete, she had tutored half the school, including the fearsome Orc.

"It's OK, look, we'll go over there and do what we need to do, and we'll talk to Edilio–you can go home and go to sleep. It's late," she explained calmly, putting a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder. She sobbed again, but nodded.

It was late, that was true. Sam realized that for the first time as they walked the rest of the way to Edilio's. It was too late, or possibly too early, for them to be woken up for just anything. Especially since Sam had gotten to sleep, for once. Astrid had practically had to strap him down to the bed so that he wasn't off patrolling the beach, keeping it as safe as safe could be.

Unfortunately, being confined to a bed wasn't as nearly as erotic as it sounded.

"This better be good, Edilio," Sam repeated, this time loud enough for the boy to hear him.

Edilio turned and grimaced. "Not good, not even close. I don't even..."

Sam was awake now. Edilio didn't look so good. They walked closer, Astrid and Sam, until they were level with Edilio. They looked down at the ditch he was looking at, in horror.

"What is it?" Astrid asked. "Who was it?"

Below them was a body. It couldn't have been there for long, the animals hadn't gotten at it. A girl's form was covered with male and female clothes–not unusual in these days. People wore what they could get, what was clean. Her hair was sprawled everywhere, matted down with blood and dirt.

Her neck was the more eye-catching than any other part of her. A red ring ran around it, blood stained her light flesh, making it look like a strange necklace. The deepest ring ran in the middle of the blood, between the double rings on the front of her neck. There were two lines running horizontally up and down her collarbone area. Her hands, fingers to be exact were covered in similar rings, and Sam couldn't make sense of the horrible picture before him.

"Oh God," Astrid breathed. "Somebody... garroted her. How old is she?"

Garroted. Fantastic. Sam made a mental note to ask exactly what that was, later. He wanted to know how old this girl was too, she didn't look much older than ten. She had piercing, one nose piercing and multiple ear piercing, but her face was so sweet, so innocent... so dead.

"Twelve, her name is–was, Andi. She was a bit punk, a rebel, but really harmless. She was a cool kid. I-I--" Edilio faltered, looking away. "I think I should go send Emily home, she tripped over Andi's body, scared her. God, it sounds so wrong saying her name. Look, I'm gonna walk Emily home." Edilio muttered, shaking his head in disgust. Whether he was talking about Emily or Andi was unclear to Sam.

So then, he and Astrid were alone. Alone. No police, no CSI, not even a security guard that could help them out. It was ridiculous. Astrid bent down and examined the girl's neck.

Sam was transfixed on the two furious bright red lines running across the girl's neck.

"She was garroted," Astrid repeated.

"Say it twice, say it eight times, still won't make me know what that word means," Sam tried to joke, to lighten the mood up, to make her happy, but it fell flat.

"It means somebody came up behind her... I'm guessing with some type of wire, and strangled her. It's a pretty painful way to die. It used to be an effective way of execution in Southern countries, but it's pretty scarcely used. It used to be the wire in conjunction with a screw being drilled into the back of the prisoner's skull, cutting off the nervous system and the br–" Astrid began.

"Woah, woah," Sam took a step back. "I'm looking at a dead girl and I have no clue what to do. Brains being destroyed and people being strangled or executed is the last thing I want to think about."

Astrid didn't apologize, but she nodded understandingly. "Believe me, I don't want to think about this either. Unfortunately, my brain doesn't listen when I tell it to shut up," she smiled wryly. Sam fought back a smile, this wasn't the time to think about how witty she was. Or how beautiful the full moon was on her soft, creamy skin. Or how her hair looked like if gold was spun into smooth strands–no, something better than gold, gold wasn't soft enough to be Astrid's hair.

Yeah, very inappropriate time to be thinking about all of those things. Sam chided himself mentally. "Can you step aside for a moment, your beauty is distracting me," Sam said smoothly. It was like something out of a CSI episode, Astrid examining a body. It seemed surreal.

"You know something's wrong with the world when the most appropriate time to flirt is when your girlfriend is looking at a dead preteen," Astrid noted dryly.

"Yes," Sam confirmed. Then frowned. "Wait, what?"

"Hi," Brianna said.

Sam and Astrid jumped. As was her norm, Brianna had appeared out of nowhere. She noticed their fright-filled faces with an expression of confusion.

"Bit jumpy? Me too. Edilio sent me with a message for you," she explained, all very quickly.

Sam frowned, looking up at the moon. His watch had run on batteries, and those were no longer in supply. He could only guess the time. "He couldn't have left more than five minutes ago."

"I guess. He came and got me because he was nearer to my house than he was to you. Oh hey, what's that over there?"

"No, Brianna," Sam began, but, of course, he was too slow. She'd already zipped over behind Astrid and seen Andi. In her traditional speed, her expression changed in the blink of an eye.

"That's Andi." She didn't seem too affected, but neither of them were fooled. They'd seen a lot over the months they'd been trapped in this dome, but you never got over the shock of learning somebody you knew was dead. It just didn't happen, not in this world, and not in the real one.

"You knew her?" Astrid asked casually. Brianna nodded.

"Yeah. We hung around sometimes. She was a Coates kid too, got out early, went to Perdido as soon as she could." Her tone hinted she wished she had had that idea too. Her normally upbeat face was dark, morbid.

"What was Edilio's message?" Sam asked abruptly, hoping to change the subject. He trusted Brianna with his life, but he didn't want a preteen having to deal with a murder. It wasn't her fault, it wasn't her problem.

But it wasn't supposed to be his, either.

"He said there was another one. Said he found another girl, older this time. That he didn't know who she was. I hadn't known what he'd meant, but he said you'd understand," she explained dryly.

Sam did understand. There were two murders this night. Astrid understood too, and so did Brianna.

Astrid spoke up, "Brianna you know... for now this has to be a secret. Everybody deserves to know, and they will know, but we've got to keep this between us for now."

Brianna shook her head numbly. "Somebody's gotta tell her little brother. I'd lie to anybody, but not her little brother."

Sam looked up in shock, and Astrid's eyes met his. While his resonated with surprise, hers were just a sad acceptance. Of course, she was the genius. She'd already considered that Andi, or the other girl, might have had siblings left behind. Friends, at the very least would need to be told.

Sam rubbed his eyes sleepily. This was all insanity. He lived and breathed insanity, and before the night was done, he'd be looking at another murder victim, garroted and strangled, dumped to the side. He was only fifteen, he didn't want to deal with this.

"Go to sleep Brianna," Astrid offered softly. "It's going to be a rough few days, you should get some rest."

Sam wished he had that luxury too.

Brianna snorted. "Yeah, right. It's going to be a few rough lifetimes in the FAYZ, Astrid."

And she was gone.


	2. Busted

**A/N: Just so anybody that's read Lies isn't confused by this, I'm setting it before Lies and after Hunger, so just about smack-dab in the middle. Not canon for Lies.**

**Everybody: So sorry I didn't update sooner. Let's blame it on the fact I started having seemingly-random seizures.**

**Caris: You bet, this one will have length.**

**Permanently: There will be more, probably swearing, excessive violence, and I just wouldn't want most kids that would read T fanfic seeing this. **

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.

The council all met, with the exception of John. Sam had personally asked him not to attend this meeting, the young boy and his sister had enough on their hands when they weren't dealing with... well, exactly whatever this was.

Sam tried not to yawn. John wasn't the only one he had wanted to stay home for this meeting. His eye met Howard's. Howard sent him a cocky grin. Howard was trouble, dealing drugs, peddling cigarettes, bartering alcohol... basically anything kids didn't need. It was despicable, and he'd already made junkies out of several good kids who were pushed too far by the FAYZ. He and Astrid had argued long into the night about whether to let Howard into this discussion.

Astrid had won obviously.

That's the thing about a genius, sooner or later they turn the tables on you and make you want what they wanted. Before the fight was over, Sam found the roles reversed and realized he had somehow become the biggest advocate for Howard's presence.

Still, Sam was glad Astrid had won. Because if she hadn't won, she might have been moody. And if she was moody, she might have let him explain the situation himself, just for shits and giggles, as Howard would say.

"Alright, alright," Astrid effectively interrupted any chatter between the council members, bringing the meeting to order. "I'm sorry, this meeting is impromptu, but there is a very serious matter that absolutely must be attended to."

Albert raised one eyebrow inquisitively. He hadn't been able to do that before the FAYZ, but he practised it. Every good businessman always seemed to be able to arch their eyebrows like pros. Any time there was something serious going on, it was good to look just as serious.

Howard scoffed. "Better than me hanging out with my man, Orc?"

Sam stiffened, he ground his teeth together. Something about Howard was beginning to irk him, it was only in these last few days. Well, when he was working with Caine that had really irked him, and before the FAYZ when he was a bootlick with an ego problem... actually, it was safer to say the period of time he had spent not disliking Howard was ending.

The atmosphere in the room was beyond tense. Only Dekka remained inscrutable.

Astrid stiffened, standing up taller before the council. "It's safe to assume it would be more important than you hanging out with Orc, yes, Howard. I'm sure your drug operation can go without your care for the hour it takes to discuss this."

"Now," she continued. "Before we get into this, Sam and I decided it would be beyond advantageous if this doesn't leave this room. For the time being, at least."

Astrid spoke calmly, coolly and seriously. Howard raised his eyebrows momentarily, trying to figure out if she'd been insulting his drug operation–and possibly how she knew he ran it–and pursed his lips. Sam wanted to high five Astrid. He knew there was a reason he loved her.

"This sounds bad." Albert stated. He didn't necessarily know Astrid well, but they were two of a kind. They both wanted a system of law and order, and they both wanted a more controlled FAYZ. A business FAYZ.

Astrid nodded. "We found two corpses last night. One of Edilio's soldiers found the first one, we're guessing the girl was dead for a good eight hours. The second body was fresher, Edilio himself stumbled across it."

There was a silence that filled the room. Everybody paused. Deaths weren't necessarily something new, but two in one night was unheard of. Even Howard recognized that there was an advantage to being silent, to respecting the young lives that were stolen away in one night.

"How fresh...?" Dekka asked. She seemed the least phased by the incident. She had the Coates toughness to her that all of the freaks inherited. Something about nearly starving, having your hands encased in concrete and having to walk miles did that to you.

Astrid thoughtfully bit her lip. "Rigor Mortis didn't set in, and I asked Edilio and Dahra–they've arguably got the most experience here–but they couldn't tell either. Too fresh to tell, so probably less than an hour. Maybe just minutes."

Some more silence.

Then Howard had to break it.

"Yeah, okay. Some kids died. I'm really sad to see that, but I must be missing the point here because I don't see what we're supposed to about it. Isn't this the wetback's territory?"

Sam bristled. "It's our job to decide how to stop this sick creep!" he snapped.

Eyes around the table widened.

"You mean to say," Albert began. He folded his hands in front of him and coughed gently. "That these two kids you're talking about were murdered? By Caine? The... Darkness?"

The last part was devastating. The idea that the entity that Lana spoke of with such conviction, an entity that scared Sam stupid, could be coming to kill them wasn't comforting. Even though Sam had already heard the reasons why it couldn't have been his brother or the Darkness, he still felt a chill running up through his spine.

"No," Astrid said decisively and clearly, letting there be no doubt she was certain. "This was somebody with human hands, and Caine would not need to use his hands to kill anybody."

"We identified the bodies. Andi Carlson, she was twelve years old, and Trisha Walters, eleven were both killed last night," Astrid continued. She looked down, and then looked at Sam for reassurance. She looked almost embarrassed. "We don't think the motive was sexually explicit, but we can't be positive. We're not doctors, and nobody's really qualified to look down there, so nobody has."

There was some more silence. Stunned silence.

Albert was gripping the table tightly, his knuckles had turned white. Howard was thinking deeply, he looked disturbed–if anything disturbed him at all this seemed to have. Dekka looked like she was ready for a nap... or possibly to cry. Edilio, already knowing this, simply watched everybody else's reactions.

"Were their deaths quick?" Dekka asked, out of the blue. It was a strange question to ask, Sam noted to himself. Not asking how they died, but how quickly they died.

Everybody looked to Astrid for an answer, even Edilio. As Sam followed suit, he could read the answer in her lips, and knew she wasn't going to say it. That she couldn't. And then he opened his eyes, for the first time that day.

"No. They didn't." Sam surprised himself as he was the one that answered. "They were garroted. It means that somebody came up behind them with a piece of rope, or in this case wire, and strangled them. It used to be used in executions... probably because it was a pretty painful way to die."

Astrid's eyes met Sam's, thanking him silently. He noted that she didn't miss the fact he had quoted her directly.

Howard stood up. "I-I've gotta go." Sam didn't believe him though. He looked shaken. "B-but, if I see somebody got more money than usual to buy something in the... market, I'll tell you guys."

Sam appreciated the gesture. And noted suspiciously that Howard instantly jumped to the idea that this was a robbery. Howard didn't need any money, he had tons of it from running the '... market', but maybe he knew something.

Maybe he knew something he didn't intend to tell anybody else.

"We should all take some time to think about this. Right now there's... there's nothing we can do. We can't play CSI, but I'm going to try and arrange somewhere to put Andi and Trisha... Um, I mean put their bodies. Go home, think, and be careful." Sam noted her eyes drifted towards Dekka.

And then he was worried on her behalf. As soon as she started worrying about Dekka because she was a girl, the floodgates opened and Sam was terrified. What if some sick creep went after Astrid? She couldn't burn people with light, she couldn't throw a left hook, she was practically defenceless.

He stood, frozen.

Astrid got up to leave with everybody else, he grabbed her arm lightly. "Stay with me?" he whispered, under his breath. She looked confused, but obliged. Together they watched as the other disturbed teenagers left the room, looking confused and scared.

Astrid looked confused and scared too.

Sam wrapped his arms around her and embraced her into a hug.

"What's this all about?" Astrid asked coyly, gently pushing away. Sam didn't let her get away, he held her, but gently.

"I'm sorry I didn't realize this was affecting you. I should have seen you were scared to tell the council earlier, it should have been me that told them." he apologized.

They separated.

"Sam," she looked at him quizically. "I was terrified to tell the council, but I volunteered for it. We work as a team. Is there something else going on?"

Yes, Sam wanted to yell. He wanted to yell that he was terrified, that he'd only now really thought both the victims were girls, that he was afraid the killer would go after her.

Then, he thought, _To hell with it,_ and he did.

"That's not all, I'm scared for you! When you said be careful, you looked at Dekka. If you're scared for Dekka, that means you think whoever is doing this is going after all girls, and I don't want you to be one of them! I'm scared for you!"

She didn't deny it, but said soothingly, "Sam, it's okay. These girls were younger than me, and there's no real reason anybody would go afer me–"

"Why wouldn't they? It's a whole different world now! And look at you... Even if I wasn't your boyfriend," he hesitated slightly on the word, still marvelling on the fact such a beautiful creature could ever go out with him. He started over again, distracted, "Even if I wasn't your boyfriend, I'd worry about you in this situation. You're so... perfect."

"That's the word," he continued. "You're perfect: you're beautiful, smart, talented, innocent... you've got such an awesome personality, and you just make being alive better. Why wouldn't anybody want you Astrid? What if somebody decides to take you?" he finished in a whisper.

Astrid blushed. "If you feel that way... Tell you what Sam, we can be together 24/7. Until we catch this creep, or we can't stand each other. Come on, we've got stuff to do."

She turned around and she walked two steps before pausing. "Oh, and just so we're clear... this isn't because you're the guy in the relationship. It's because you're the guy that can shoot laser beams in this relationship."

She smiled invitingly. Sam marvelled. That's something he forgot to mention. She had a fabulous smile.

.

.

.

The first order of the business had been convincing Edilio to dig two more graves in the plaza. They had caught Edilio in the middle of training with his soldiers, but Sam and Astrid had a bit of a priority, especially now. Edilio was really beginning to bond with his soldiers, none of them complained when he got rid of them by telling them to run laps, they were all loyal to the excess.

Sam could sense that the bodies were going to be a problem. It was everything in Astrid's movement, the way she talked to Edilio, the way they exchanged casual conversation beforehand–led by Astrid, of course–and the way she wouldn't meet Sam's eyes. The bodies had been put into an abandoned house far away from prying eyes.

When asked to dig two more graves in the plaza, Edilio had looked confused, for only a fraction of a second.

"Are we telling people what... happened to them?" he asked.

Astrid and Sam hesitated, their eyes met. "Err..." Sam began.

"Well..." Astrid trailed off.

They lapsed into silence.

"Okay, okay, I get it. We aren't going to tell them yet. Somebody will notice they're missing, though. These girls were both popular. They had friends. A family."

"We know that," Astrid said pointedly. "I wouldn't expect any different. It's better if we understand what's going on before we have a full-scale panic. At least if we can find what the killer is after."

"He's a sick freak, isn't that all there is to it?" Sam asked bitterly. He only briefly noticed his use of the word 'freak'. Funny, in the old days a freak would just be a... freak. It wouldn't be used to describe himself, or anybody else that was a little bit different. It wouldn't refer to somebody that was different if it wasn't their _choice_.

"Well. There is always the possibility–and I sincerely hope this to be true–that this is not a serial killer. One girl might have been killed over, well, who knows what. What happened if the other girl witnessed it?" Astrid proposed. "If we go out there and say there's a serial killer running around, it'll be mass panic."

Edilio nodded. "That makes a lot of sense. Still. There's not much I can do. In this heat they'll begin to rot, but I can't dig a hole in the plaza without somebody noticing.

Astrid looked glum, she pushed a strand of her hair–such beautiful golden silky strands–out of her eyes. "Yes. I almost expected that. I suppose now it's another matter altogether."

"What's that?" Edilio looked almost suspicious, as if expecting them to suggest burning the bodies.

"We tell them what happened."

At this point one of Edilio's soldiers stopped their jog. Apparently the boy, he looked to be about ten, had heard the last part of their conversation. He cupped his hands to his mouth and said,

"We already know about Andi and Trisha. The whole town knows by now!" he called over.

Sam's initial response was to accuse Edilio–it was his soldier–but seeing the boy's wide eyes and surprised demeanor cleared his name. Edilio was just as scared as they were.

"_Hijo de puta_. We're going to need quite the _cabeza de turco_, now."

**.**

**Baaah. Short Chapter.** **R&R?**


	3. Experimenting

**Espencer: You're right, I have the story completely mapped out. I don't want to give away anything, but I can promise you that you will see a female antagonist, a suspect at the very least.**

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"Okay. This isn't good."

There were kids crowding into the plaza left and right. There were a few older kids, but most of them weren't even out of diapers yet. Mother Mary's prees. And there was Mother Mary. Crying. Surrounded by prees crying. With John who looked on the verge of insanity. Older kids were bundled around, and they didn't look much better off.

"Understatement of the year, Edilio." Sam muttered dryly. "I don't want to know what's going on."

"Sam!"

"It's Sam!"

"Sam will know what to do!"

The voices rushed at Sam, a freight train of pressure. _Don't go down this road_, _he told himself, you have Edilio and Astrid._

But still, he didn't know what to do.

"We need to go over there, find out what happened." Astrid suggested. "Go on, Sam."

And just like that, she'd shoved responsibility on him again. Sam could feel the pressure building. He had to deal with this. Just him. All alone. Astrid and Edilio couldn't really help him, they couldn't get people to stop judging him. They may as well have not been there.

He picked up his pace, and bent down near to Mary. He hadn't seen Mother Mary crying like this before, she was totally ignoring the kids. And what were they doing in the plaza, outside of the daycare.

"Mary, are you alright?" Sam asked, putting a hand gently on her arm. Kids still swarmed around her, tugging her clothes and asking her questions Mary wouldn't answer. Sam wasn't sure if Mary could even tell he was there over the noise of the prees.

"Sam. We need to talk."

A boy came up beside him. One of the daycare helpers, Sam recognized him. He sat down on the tarmac.

In the days before the FAYZ, the boy might have been good looking. He had a strong cheekbone, sandy brown hair that fell to his shoulders. He was possibly thirteen, although the FAYZ made everybody look smaller, younger. He could have passed for ten if an adult had seen him.

"Uh. Yeah, I suppose so. I don't suppose you know what happened–"

"Yeah. I do. That sick psychopath Merwin just killed a kid."

Sam's blood turned to ice. "Drake? Drake's dead. He's gone. Forever." He looked at both Astrid and Edilio for confirmation. They nodded.

"Well... who else would strangle a kid? He was, like, three! You've _got_ to stop him!"

Sam was used to being told he _had_ to do something. It barely bothered him anymore that people assumed they could walk up to him and tell him all the stuff he had to do. But his jaw dropped anyways. A pree. Somebody had killed one of the prees. Strangled.

"How do you know he was strangled?" Astrid asked, ever vigilant. Sam could follow her train of thought instantly: maybe this kid had seen the murderer. They could catch this killer before it became serious.

_More serious than three dead kids?_ He asked himself bitterly.

"Well, there's this red ring around his neck, and there's some blood around his neck. What else could have killed him?"

Sam nodded. Quickly. Trying to understand. His brain had frozen, but something registered in him that whatever happened, Astrid would still understand. "Okay. What's your name?" he asked, grasping at straws.

Three kids, dead. Two girls, one boy. Two teens, one preschooler. Dead. Gone. Killed. What would they say if they got out of here?

_Are you telling me, Mr. Temple, that there was a serial killer loose?_

_Three kids dead, and you didn't stop him?_

"I'm Tyler. Tyler Anderson."

Sam nodded. Tyler had gone on his bus. He was a grade younger than him, so thirteen or fourteen. He was a good kid, a bit of a troublemaker, but that didn't mean much in the FAYZ. It was a whole new world now. Some of the troubled kids were the best citizens, and some of the studious honour students were putting them to shame.

"Did you see anything?" he asked.

Tyler looked thoughtful. "Well. Just the body. For a few seconds, it wasn't me that found her, it was the guard."

Sam's mind blanked. "It was the guard? What guard?"

Edilio spoke up for the first time in a while. "Mary was worried about the prees, after whole coyote incident. We arranged for a soldier of mine–well, she was more of an ex-soldier–to watch the daycare from afar. Mary didn't want anybody with a gun too close to the preschool," he explained.

Sam nodded. He briefly remembered Edilio telling him that. He also remembered Mary protesting the idea of any firearms near the daycare.

"Why is your guard an 'ex-soldier'? Any problems with her?" Sam asked suspiciously. Edilio shook his head.

"I've had a lot of kids drop out. It's one thing to aim a gun and pull a trigger, but some kids just couldn't handle the fact they might aim at a person one day."

"I think it's time to talk to the guard. If she was watching as vigilantly as she was supposed to, she could give us the name of our killer." Astrid's tone was as cold as her eyes.

.

.

At first, Sam had been kind of against Edilio interviewing the guard with them. He didn't know why, but he just wished he and Astrid could have talked to her alone. Astrid had a point, though. Edilio knew the girl better than them combined, and it might help to see a familiar face.

Especially if you just found the body of a three year old.

Strangely enough, out of all of the people they had seen in the crowd in the plaza, not one of them was angry. Not one of them yelled at them, despite them all knowing about the death the night before–or was it that morning?

As Astrid had put it, "Sure. They all heard about it. They just don't know who said it first. They probably think we told them, and didn't keep it a secret. Why would they be upset with us?" she paused, her face the picture of reflection, before adding, "Although, I suppose we didn't keep it a secret. One of the council had to have leaked this."

"Nah. Killer could have done it too," Edilio pointed out gravely.

Sam rubbed his head. "I'm going to have a headache tonight. So we find who leaked the fact somebody killed two girls early this morning, and we find the killer. Or one of our own council. Or both."

Astrid nodded.

"That's Three," Edilio pointed across the plaza, to a girl sitting on a grassy patch, near the graves. Her head was in her hands, she leaned against a tree. She almost looked like she was crying, but something told Sam she would be dry-eyed. Sometimes the kids–especially the older ones–just found it hard to be shocked anymore.

Sam and Astrid shot Edilio a strange look, prompting to clarify. "Allison. Her name is Allison, but everybody calls her Three. She's the guard."

He paused. "Would you mind if I talked to her alone?"

"Yes we would," Sam said as Astrid said,

"No, go ahead."

They exchanged glances, even though Sam knew he had already lost.

"We should interview her, talk to her," Sam protested.

"Edilio can be responsible for that. We'll get to talk to her sometime later. Right now we should find the body, examine it. Maybe find out who leaked the deaths of Andi and Trisha. If Edilio can lead an army, I think he can be _trusted_ to ask a few questions here and there."

And when it was put like that, Sam couldn't have possibly argued without offending Edilio.

Astrid won arguments before she began, sometimes.

.

.

"So this is him." Sam said. It wasn't a question, so Astrid didn't answer it.

She was still stunned.

_He looks like Petey. _She thought to herself.

This boy was named Carmen Todd. He was three years old. He didn't have Petey's feminine qualities, but he was blonde... and he looked a lot like Pete did at age three. Only, Petey had never lied dead on the grass outside of the daycare, next to a bundle of toys.

Astrid could remember it easily, she was eleven, and they were just taking Petey in for his first tests. Because they thought he might be autistic. Until that day he was diagnosed, Astrid had always thought autism was just something out of the movies, just something that would happen to somebody other than her.

After all–how could a genius be related to somebody who was mentally incapable?

"I don't see what we're supposed to be looking for."

Astrid bent down. She gently touched the boy's neck. There was only one red ring. On the others there had all been two. What did that mean?

"Sam. Can you turn around for me?"

Sam turned his back towards her, instantly. "Do you mind if I ask why?"

"I'm going to strangle you."

She could see the hesitation and desire to turn around a look at her in his actions. "Ummm... Okay, Astrid. That's... kinky."

"Hang on, I need something to use... uh, a shoelace." Astrid quickly untied her shoe, pulling the lace free. "Okay. Alright. So I've got this shoelace, and it's my garrote."

"That's fantastic, Astrid. I'm proud of how far you've come," Sam joked, glancing back at her.

Astrid reached the shoestring around Sam, it wrapped around his neck easily. It was just like she'd thought. If somebody was strangled like she'd seen in the movies then there would only be one ring, and some slight indentations pointing down–probably because she was shorter than Sam.

Astrid thought back to the victims of the night before. She could remember their necks clearly. Two rings, indentations varied, but the strongest, clearest lines leading away from the circle were straight left and right.

"Sam, do you trust me?" she asked.

Sam sent a wary look over his shoulder at her. "This is where you are going to ask to strangle me in the name of science, isn't it?"

Astrid nodded. "You know me so well. Raise your hand when you feel your airway restricted."

Astrid tightened her grip on the shoelace, pulling in earnest, but not hard enough to bruise. Almost instantly Sam's hands raced to his neck, feeling the shoelace.

_And I'm not even pulling tight enough to kill,_ Astrid marvelled. _How terrified must these kids have been; not knowing who was strangling them, and not knowing it was just an... experiment_._ Sam's scared... and it's just me._

Sam raised his hand. Astrid loosened her grip and looked at the mark. Sam had struggled a bit, but not enough to make the indentations from the ends of the lace she was holding to change directions. Which made a bit of sense. You couldn't expect Sam to recreate the fear in that scenario.

"Alright, now, raise your hand again if your airway is restricted."

This time Astrid double looped the shoelace. She tightened her grip, and almost instantly, Sam's hand shot up.

"That was quicker," Astrid noted.

Sam rubbed his neck. "Yeah. Are we almost done this?"

Astrid considered it. "Almost. I'm done the strangling, okay, say you are being strangled. You're struggling. There were marks from the garrote on Andi's fingers, so it's safe to say she managed to get her hands under the wire or rope. You're fighting me."

Sam nodded slowly. "Okay. I'd never fight you, though. I just let the pretty girls murder me."

Astrid smiled. "Thanks Sam. In this alternate universe, I'm a guy. Female serial killers never act alone. And if they have a partner, they're male. Since there's no injury other than strangulation, no bruising, anything, it's safe to assume there's only one killer."

"Okay then. Mystery guy that's _totally_ a genetic male and not nearly as pretty as Astrid, would you mind not strangling me? I don't mean to be a bother." Sam asked, laughing. It felt good to hear him laugh. Like everything was right in the world, and the cool surfer kid could still laugh. Like maybe one day she'd be able to laugh with him about nothing.

"Alright. Seriously," she said firmly, feeling bad for shooting his joke down. "You're struggling... so, say, I kick you down."

Sam nodded, they both dropped down to the ground, lying on the grass a good ten meters away from poor Carmen Todd. Sam was on the bottom Astrid on top as Astrid examined Sam's neck carefully, occasionally moving the rope and the angle she held it at. Astrid made note of the different positions of the rope.

"Move your head around, Sam, like you're struggling." Astrid ordered.

Sam complied. He moved his head and shrugged his shoulders like he was having an epileptic seizure. The rope that wasn't completely touching his neck moved, in different positions, from diagonal to horizontal. "This area here, above the intersection where the rope comes together: if somebody pulled tight enough on it or used some type of wire, it would cut into the skin of your neck, creating an indent. If you could struggle and move your neck slightly, it would create multiple indents on the side of your neck."

"Which it did. On both of them. I remember that. Three welts on either side."

"Carmen only had one ring around his neck, and no welts. The killer didn't have quite the strength to kill the girls, but they could restrain Carmen and strangle him without bringing the rope all the way to the back of their neck. " Astrid pointed out.

"Oh?" Sam tried to look over at the boy's body, which was hard to do with Astrid on top of him, pinning him down.

"Which means that whoever strangled the girls didn't have the strength to contain them, and knocked them down. They wrapped some more rope, wire, whatever, around their neck to keep control of them, and as they struggled on the ground the angle the taut string was at changed..."

"Which is why those three different lines were there?" Sam guessed.

"Did you actually follow all of this, or was it just a lucky guess?" Astrid asked, pulling her head closer into Sam's.

"Um. Okay. I'm not even going to ask." Edilio said. Astrid spun around, to see Edilio turn his head to the side, as if he was seeing something he shouldn't. Astrid looked at Sam, back at Edilio, and her eyes widened. She hurriedly clambered off of Sam, as Sam struggled to pick himself up off the ground.

"It's not what it looks like–I was experimenting on Sam."

"I see _that_, Astrid." Edilio blushed.

"No, I mean I was seeing what marks ropes in different positions would do to him if he was on the ground–" Astrid began. For some reason that didn't seem to explain anything to Edilio and he continued to blush deeper. Astrid began to think maybe she was explaining it weakly, or incorrectly. She was just wondering if she should restart when Sam interrupted her,

"Trust me on this Astrid, you're not making this sound _any_ better. Have you finished talking to Allison yet, Edilio?"

"Yeah, but call her Three. She can't stand Allison. And, I think it's fair to say that I now know which member of the council leaked the details of Trisha and Andi's murders."

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**A/N: In case you can't tell, this site doesn't like my word processor's Enter key very much so when I want a scene break I have to use stupid little dots. Periods. Whatever. And hey–I just noticed my last chapter didn't keep my * as scene breaks–so I get to go redo that chapter. Fun or what?**


	4. Deliberation

"I talked to the guard, Three–uh, Allison," Edilio began without giving Astrid and Sam a chance to talk. "She talked to Howard earlier today, at his underground market. He told her all about our two mystery victims–without her asking."

"What?" Sam asked incredulous. It was the obvious conclusion to jump to, but Sam still couldn't believe it. He'd already come to hope the killer was secretly spying on them, that the killer was the leak.

"Oh really. Now, if our attentive guard here had a chance to talk to Howard in say, the last hour, exactly who was watching the prees." Astrid looked grim, cynical.

Edilio's face was cold. He finally relented and winced, shaking his head. He looked down and mumbled, "She left her post. She was buying alcohol."

"Great. So, one of our own council members was going behind our backs, spreading fear and chaos, and the guard that could have prevented half of this problem is a drunkard." Astrid rolled her eyes, but her sharp tone couldn't hide her emotion. She was upset.

So was Sam. All of this could have been avoided if a girl hadn't decided getting drunk was more important than the safety of the kids around them–their own future. If this girl had thought everything through life would have been much better.

Edilio caught their critical expressions.

"No," Edilio said too quickly. He blushed and explained, "I was careful when choosing these kids. Three told me the night after she began drinking–she can't sleep unless she has something to drink the night before."

Sam wasn't paying attention. Edilio was a good guy, but he was a little bit too much of a good guy for this problem. He didn't want to face the facts, that somebody he had trained was inattentive, and that had caused them all problems.

"She's not your soldier anymore, Edilio. You don't have to worry about her performance reflecting on you," Astrid said quietly, placing a comforting hand on Edilio's slumped shoulders.

Another disappointment for Edilio. You just couldn't ask this much of teenagers.

"Huh. Sleep problems. Ask around enough and that's what all the alcoholics of the FAYZ drink for–Lana says she drinks to go to sleep too, you know." Sam clenched his fists. This killer had slipped out of his grasp once more. His rage was building, he could feel it like a fire, building, slowly being stoked. He wondered how long until it burnt out of control.

Astrid placed her arm on his elbow, and cool water splashed over the flames. Sam snapped out of a daze. "Sometimes I think you're picking up on my cynicism, Sam," she laughed. It wasn't a real laugh, nobody could laugh in a situation like this, but it was the best they could do.

It was the best that anybody could do.

But Sam was okay, for now anyways.

"What's going on over there, man? Is that a fight?" Edilio asked, peering into the distance. He pointed to the plaza where the prees had been gathered, were currently residing at. Sam froze, in horror. Were the prees in danger?

He followed Edilio's line of sight. No. Two people, older kids by the look of it. They were going at it, but it didn't seem too serious. Yelling, a slap, but Sam knew fights. He'd seen way too many in this hellhole. That's how they all started, and the could escalate quickly.

It was time for him to play leader, again. "Uh, okay, Edilio, you go get that guard, we're going to need a list on everybody she's seen today, anything unusual... pretty much anything. Astrid and I will talk to her later, in front of the council. Bring her to my office in an hour," he ordered. He missed the fact he had began to call the old Perdido Beach's mayor's office his own, but it didn't go unnoticed by Astrid.

She smiled. Sam was starting to become the leader they needed, starting to feel he deserved the powers they'd given him.

Edilio raised an eyebrow. "What about you, man?"

"Astrid and I will be going to break up that fight together, and then find Howard for a nice chat," he growled. Oh he was going to enjoy that talk, in particular.

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"Can we leave now?" Tyler shook Mother Mary. His dark hair brushed in front of his eyes. "Helllooo? I want out of here, I'll take care of Peter for the day, I just don't want to stay here for the rest of my life!"

John was at her side. "But... aren't you going to help us watch the prees?" He took another step towards Tyler–after all why shouldn't he? He'd worked with Tyler for a long time now, they'd changed diapers together and fed babies, and explained to kids why there was no more food.

"We really need help Tyler, you've seen all the kids, they love you! You promised you'd help up, you've helped us for so long!" John begged, seeing his pleas were having little effect on the older boy.

Tyler pushed John away. Harshly. "Well, I _was_ helping you. Then somebody murdered a kid. I don't want my brother around this kind of dangerous stuff. Even if that kid had it coming to him anyways," he muttered darkly.

John had always been smart for his age, and with all the extra responsibility on his hands he had developed a very fine-tuned sense of paranoia. Mary would have asked what he meant by that, she would have been downright furious he'd ever insinuate something like that. But she wasn't... really here now.

"How can a toddler have anything coming to him? Especially murder. Especially this. Tyler, you know this was just a kid, just a pree."

Tyler scoffed. "No good punk. Or at least he was going to be. He was already stealing food from Peter. Would I be here unless my little brother was being harassed? No. I get money just to make sure he survives. It works good. But, now his problem is gone, and so am I."

John's jaw dropped. "You're not actually going to... leave us? Are you? Not now! There's so much work that needs to be done!"

"I think I already answered that, Carrottop."

Tyler put his hands up to his shoulder in a 'What can you do?' expression, and smiled a lopsided grin. Quicker than the Breeze, Mary had stood up and stumbled towards him. She looked like she was drunk.

Drunk on misery.

_Slap_.

"Tyler fucking Anderson," Mary raged. Her face was red, her eyes were puffy. The 'crying teenage girl' look had never been very intimidating, but Tyler couldn't ignore the fact she was a big girl, tall and strong. She was taller than short Tyler might ever be. And she was bearing down on him like a freight train. He was still in shock from the first blow.

"If you abandon these kids now when they're hungry, confused and scared–when we're confused and scared... I can't promise anybody much, but I can promise that I will go to Sam and Astrid. I will go to whatever council member I have to and I will force you to work in this daycare for the rest of your life!"

She shook the collar of his shirt that she held as she spoke. Tyler swung limply back and forth, like a child's discarded rag doll.

Not a pree spoke, or even cried. Even John was amazed. Just the fact she had sworn in front of the prees said a mouthful, and it wasn't a good sign. He hurried to his sister's side, putting a comforting hand on her back. "It's okay," he whispered as a mantra, feeling his sister shaking with rage.

Tyler pushed her off, ripping his collar out of her grasp. "You freaking kidding me? I am taking my little brother with me! I've been wondering about this place... and so has everybody else! That kid was a freak, you know he was! He deserved it!" As soon as he said it, his eyes widened, apparently remembering the threat to go to Sam. Freak-bashing probably was the worst way to get into Sam's good books.

Swallowing deeply, he continued, "Yeah. That's right. You heard me. The fuck is wrong with this place anyways? One second he would be in the corner playing with blocks, if you blinked he'd be in the kitchen begging for food! He could teleport, and you know it! And look at this little freak–" he gestured to a girl cowering next to Mary. "she freaking glows! That's just wrong! Carmen Todd was a freak, and he deserved to die!"

It struck John as odd. This scene could have been recreated in any school across the continent. If you took away the screaming toddlers that were everywhere, and that they were all filthy and half-starved. Just a fight waiting to happen. Over a difference of opinion.

Mary growled. Literally. "He was just a little different," she whispered, in a deep, throaty voice. She was warning him. Telling him to leave. The time had long since passed where Tyler had been a valuable employee. Actually, he hadn't really been that helpful at all. He was good, he'd done his work, but he never went that extra mile. He would be welcomed back no longer.

Then, she struck him. Not just a slap, but an honest-to-God punch. Her knuckles connected with his jaw, and for just a second she was satisfied. She lost track of all consequences, she wasn't thinking about the impressionable preschoolers watching her. She just wanted this kid to pay for what he'd said to one of her prees.

A dead pree.

"Mary! Mary! Stop! Stop!" John shouted, waving his arms up and down. It was a bit pointless, because Tyler didn't get up. He just cried out and rubbed his jaw, staying on the ground.

"Augggh. Bitch! Man, I'm out of here. Come on, Pete."

The sandy haired boy picked himself up and walked away, fuming. His brother, a much younger darker-haired version of himself followed him meekly.

Without a word, Mary crumpled. Crying again.

Nobody noticed as Sam and Astrid walked up behind them. Nobody noticed as their eyes met and words were exchanged. And nobody noticed as they faded into the distance, in the direction of Howard's underground market. The fight was over. It wasn't their job to console people. Not now.

It was their job to shut Howard down.

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The underground market wasn't exactly underground. Everybody with half an IQ knew its location–and Astrid more than covered both her own and Sam's quota for IQ. To make it more ironic than before, it was at the old smokeshop, located across the school and a block to the left. The parents had always hated that cigarettes were sold so close to where their children went to school.

It was both Sam and Astrid's first time entering the shop–neither of their parents had smoked–and it felt unusual. Sitting behind the desk was Howard and somebody else Sam didn't recognize.

"Sammy, Sammy, Sammy. What are you going here? We've got some... ah, contraceptives if that's what you're looking for." Howard smirked. He didn't know why they were there, but he knew it wouldn't be for condoms.

Sam's eyes met Astrid's. Her eyes were cold and strong. _Go for it_, Sam, they said. _Scare him a little bit_.

"Cut it out Howard. You know what we're here to talk to you about!" he snarled. He walked up to the counter, placing his palms on the glass. There was more than one reason for that. It looked intimidating, and it wasn't a direct threat to kill anybody with his light.

"Hmm. I don't suppose it's something good, is it? Hey, Chug. Tell you what man; get lost, alright? You don't need to hear this."

"Hunh?" the second guy sat up quickly. He had deep shadows under his eyes, like somebody who'd been losing sleep. Or been on drugs. Or both. "Uh, yeah, right." He stumbled his way out of the door, like a drunk being kicked out of a bar. The three waited patiently for Chug to leave, exchanging angry glances.

"I don't know what your problem is, Sammy boy, but I've got a big one: I don't like to be accused of things I didn't do."

"No, Howard, if you don't come clean right now, your only problem will be_ me_." Sam jabbed a finger towards his own chest. He stood a little taller, although he didn't need his physical size to

be threatening. Not with hands that could kill.

"Will you at least tell me what I supposedly did that has you so pissed off?" Howard began raising his voice.

Astrid stepped in, but Sam could tell from her body language it was only temporary. "You betrayed the council, Howard. You betrayed our trust," her voice was soft, calm, and calculating. She took a minute step back.

"Hmm. Okay. And how did I do that, Sam? You and your trophy wife haven't been making much sense, as of late." Howard chuckled at himself, but nobody else was in the mood to laugh.

"You told them. About the killer. You went behind our backs and told people!"

Howard's eyebrows shot up. For a moment, a rare moment, he was silent. He stared at them, evaluating them. Studying them.

"Okay," he said finally. He exhaled. "What's this really about? I don't have cameras in here or anything, I just want to know... do you just not like me? Is it because I'm black?"

Sam growled, "This has nothing to do with race, Howard. We're just ticked that you stabbed us in the back."

"Nothing to do with race? Is it because I'm friends with Orc? Because I sell drugs? What is it–you've got to have some reason for accusing me of this!" Howard threw his hands up in the air.

"We've got the person you spilled your guts to, and we've got an entire town that knows."

Howard laughed. "Okay, I see. Somebody runs to you with stories of pixies and fairy dust and suddenly you believe them. You believe them to the extent you barge in here and accuse me before you even ask me my side of the story. Well, fine. Be like that. Kindly leave my store.

"Let me just tell you something Sammy; I didn't do it. If I told anybody, I would have told my man, Orc. He could have kept an eye out, because there's nobody in the town he can't handle. Nobody. Caine and Drake always considered him a threat, even when they were in power. Now, though, if you want Orc's help, you'll have to... what does he say...? 'Beer him'.

"I hope next time you are more actively involved in listening to other people's sides of the story–because this one just cost you big time." Howard smirked, confident he was winning.

"No, Howard, we don't need to hear your story, that's what's going on. Don't show up in my office for a while. I'm calling a meeting of the town council, and you're not invited."

Without waiting for a response, Sam turned tail and stormed out of the store, knowing Astrid would be close behind him. As he left he could hear Howard, apparently unperturbed by the whole ordeal, singing sweetly.

"Oh Sammy, Sammy, Sammy, whatever would we do without Sam the judge, jury, and executioner?"

Somehow, Astrid couldn't help but agree with him.

Behind them as the door slammed shut, Howard chuckled. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew this was only the beginning.

Just wait until they figured out he actually was innocent.

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An hour and a half later, and the council was assembled. John looked upset, and why wouldn't he be? Albert looked a little worried, he was probably worried he was losing money from taking an hour out of his business. Dekka looked grouchy, that wasn't much of a change, though. Edilio looked nonchalant, but his shoulders were slumped and cheeks were tinged. The guard, Three, didn't look like she cared about anything anymore.

Sam recognized her by face, she had gone to Perdido Beach School. Three had been on the girl's softball team a million years ago, their star pitcher. He saw her picture in the local newspaper every now and then, she made the front page on one slow news day. He remembered her name, it was Allison Allison Allison. That's why she was called Three, to make it easier, and to avoid teasing from bullies, like Orc.

It was amazing how he thought of those memories like something out of an old movie, like something out of somebody else's life. Before, she'd played baseball. Now, she guarded the daycare and worked nights for Albert.

She was in his grade, back when school existed, so thirteen or fourteen. Judging by her height she was closer to his age than thirteen. She had long brown hair, still in the ponytail she'd always played her games in. Sam guessed there was a story behind that–unwilling to give up the past, maybe. With lice and fleas going around, most girls had cut off their hair. Not to the levels Diana Ladris had resorted to, but not keeping their hair at elbow's length.

Clutched in her hands were two folded pieces of paper. One was older, stained and crumpled, and the other one was fresh and clean. She held on tightly, her knuckles turning white from the pressure.

"When is Howard showing up?" Albert asked, finally. He had been trying for a while to make eye contact with Three. She seemed to be avoiding his gaze.

"He's not showing up." Sam stood up. "We were going to tell everybody about the deaths when we were ready, but Howard decided that wasn't good enough. He went behind our backs. He told everybody."

"That's... strange," Albert admitted. He looked to be thinking. He looked worried. He wasn't the only one, Astrid's emotions were a little harder to read, but she was just as worried.

Dekka, on the other hand, acted in a similar fashion to Sam. She clenched her hand into a fist and scowled. "No good little creep. I hope he won't be back." If it hadn't been for the race and age differences, Astrid would have sworn that those two were twins separated at birth.

"Not until he admits what he did and makes amends, at the very least," Astrid said, before Sam could say anything.

John blurted out, "I don't understand! How long have you guys known about this? I only heard this morning." He looked like he was halfway between feeling relieved and betrayed. Relieved because something might get done quicker. Betrayed because nobody told him sooner.

Astrid, who was sitting beside him began whispering in his ear and speaking quietly to John, leaving Sam to address the rest of the council. Sam was thankful, if anybody could explain that whole mess, it was Astrid.

"We had another death today. I'm not sure if you all heard," he began, knowing that some wouldn't. They had only found the body an hour and a half ago, that wasn't time enough for world of mouth to travel that quickly.

"We did?" Dekka shot up. Normally, she slouched and looked as if she'd rather be anywhere else. Now she was all ears. Albert, on the other hand, looked unsurprised. If anybody would have heard already, it would have been Albert. Astrid was done talking to John Terrafino by now, and Sam could see he was in tears. That death in particular had probably been hard for him–and Mary–to take.

"It was one of the prees–a boy named Carl Todd."

"Carmen," John corrected, his voice breaking.

The council all paused for a few seconds. Everybody was engaged with something, whether thinking, or just absorbing the information. Astrid watched with particular interest as Albert attempted to make eye contact with Three again, almost moving to stand up, before thinking twice and remaining seated.

"What does this mean for the theory of a serial killer? Were all of them killed by the same person? Why did they kill a boy?" Dekka asked finally.

Sam relented, waiting for Astrid. This was more of her territory.

Astrid caught the cue, but seemed despondent, distracted. "A serial killer doesn't always kill by gender, if this is a serial killer all the victims will have had something in common. No serial killer is random. If this is somebody who kills by opportunity, they'll get sloppy and make a mistake, eventually," she explained, as if reading it from a book in front of her. Her eyes were elsewhere.

"Eventually? Exactly how long is eventually?"

"Too long. We need somebody to bury the bodies, Edilio, not you. I want you to spend time with your troops. We'll need them. In the meantime; Three, who did you see today? Pay attention people, these are our suspects."

Three unfolded one of the pieces of paper, frowned and began to read. "Uh... Mother Mary, John, Albert, Orc, Quinn, Howard... Um. Tyler and Pete Anderson–but Pete's only three, so forget him... Uh. Lance, Zil. Uh. Well, I guess that's pretty much everybody. Taylor. I saw her too. Uh... Well, you and Astrid, but that doesn't count, does it?" she asked.

John sat straight up. "Tyler Anderson said something. He said that Carmen was picking on his brother, and that he deserved to die, since he thought Carmen was a freak."

Astrid patted him on the back, approvingly. "There we go, we have our first suspect."

"Don't forget," Sam added darkly. "Zil. He'd love to stir up trouble, and this would be one way to do it."

"Or Howard. He was around the daycare, and he was going around telling everybody about serial killers. Don't serial killers like attention or something? I heard it on CSI," Dekka put in.

Albert put his head in his palms. "Something tells me we're going to need a list for all this."

Sam looked at his watch. "Get used to this guys. It's only noon, day one. We have got to catch this guy."

Not even Sam could pretend to be enthused.

"We've got to catch him." Edilio nodded. "Because he hasn't touched us yet, but, man, he's already killing us."

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**A/N: It might be argued that Mother Mary went out of character–but, I was rereading where she stands up against Howard in Gone. I like her character pre-Lies, she was strong. You'll be seeing more of that Mary in this fic.**

**Also going to start another fiction up sometime soon, since school's out. It'll be a bit more humour, and much less violence.**


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